Richard Malotky: Without angular momentum, where are we going?

I think the strongest relationships have the most angular momentum. When each person shares their angular momentum, magic happens. Lets review some basic physics.

We should start the talk with speed. Speed is described by distance over time. Give speed a direction (a vector, a very important word today) and you have velocity. Change velocity, either by changing speed or changing direction, and you have acceleration. An example is Isaac Newton’s apple; when it fell from the tree it accelerated at 32 feet per second per second. It had both speed and direction, and the speed was increasing due to gravity.

When I graduated high school, I had speed. I was going somewhere, just not sure which direction. By and large my relationships were similar, going somewhere but concentrated on self. In college, I like to think I got a little direction vector going in both my professional life and my personal life. I was learning about angular momentum but I just didn’t realize it. Instead of revolving around my own center of mass, I began to revolve around another.

So just what is this angular momentum? Momentum has a specific physics definition involving an equation I’d like to gloss over. We can usefully think of it as energy in a direction. A vector direction. The angular part comes in when this energy in a direction is going around and around another object. Even if it travels at a constant speed it’s always accelerating since the direction vector is always changing.

An example is the moon going around the earth. The moon has acceleration (both speed and direction), and it has the magic property of changing its vector of motion second by second as it curls around the earth. Because of the big difference in mass, the moon “feels” the earth more than the earth “feels” the moon, but both do feel each other. That’s angular momentum without an equation.

I think in some relationships, both people may share the same velocity vector. Rushing through life in the same general direction. They are going parallel. But if they don’t start revolving around each other they never get to feel the angular momentum of each other. These relationships often fail since neither partner gets to feel the other’s angular force.

Another example of a relationship has one person unconditionally revolving around the other while the other simply continues in a straight line. Particularly damaging for the revolving partner, he or she never gets to feel the others angular force. These relationships often end in failure too.

The best situation arises when both partners revolve around each other continuously. Each feels the other’s angular momentum. And a magic physics thing happens in this circumstance as well.

We have to do one quick math review. Remember in geometry and algebra we use Cartesian coordinates X, Y and Z. These were named after René Descartes, who is credited with inventing them in the 17th century. (he also founded analytic geometry, and is credited with the quote “Cogito ergo sum” — I think, therefore I am.) You might recall the X, Y and Z axis used to chart or plot equations in math class. Make a picture in your mind.

Lets pretend the woman has the X axis (appropriate chromosomally) and the man has the Y axis (also appropriate chromosomally). What happens when each revolves around the other? A new, magic force vector is produced, and it comes out their Z axis! If you want to see one of the Z axis products, observe closely the next little baby you see (ask permission). They are magic.

But you don’t have to be married or have a child to share your angular momentum. Examples of the Z vector force are the products of any loving relationship that involves shared angular momentum. The foundation and volunteer folks are familiar with these feelings. The hospice workers I know are chuck full of angular momentum. That’s how they can do such a difficult job. Magic.

If you are in a committed relationship where both parties share their angular momentum, consider yourself lucky. I don’t know how my bride puts up with me, but when I feel her spin around me I can understand why we are married for 30 years this month. And I must not forget to spin around her. If you are not in a relationship like this, don’t settle for anything less. Start to spin around someone else! Life is too short to never share any angular momentum.